Thunderstorms
by rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe
Summary: Nothing can scare Franklin Richards, as he carries his father's logics about everything that happens. When there's a thunderstorm, he goes to his mother's room and finds comfort in her stories about thunderstorms and giants going bowling at a disco. R


Nothing really scared him very much, taking into consideration that he was one of Mr. Fantastic's son. He was the Invisible Woman's son. Regardless, a five-year-old boy would still get scared of the thunderstorm that was brewing that stormy night. As lightning and thunder clashed and covered the night sky, all Franklin Benjamin Richards could do was take his blanket cover it over his head and take a tight grasp around the teddy bear his Uncle Ben gave him when he was born.

No one else was in the loft other than Reed and Susan, as Ben was staying over at Alicia's and Johnny was out of the city for a vacation. As the crime rate was not at its peak at the moment, Reed had given his team a break and told all of them to spend time with the family.

As the thunder gave its terrifying roar, Franklin gave up being the brave little boy and rushed out his bedroom door with his blanket and teddy bear, straight into the hallway. He ran as quickly as his short legs could to his parents' room. Inside he saw his mother on her bed reading a book with her glasses on. Noticing that his father was not there, he realized that he might be in his lab.

Glancing at his mother with his terrified blue eyes, he crept to his mother's bed, not trying to arouse suspicious and trying not to get caught. His mother would be very mad if he wasn't in his bed asleep as his bed time was long over due for that night. He went on his knees and crawled to the other side of his mother's bed. When his mother was turning the page, he quickly slipped under the covers and stayed that way until his mother said, "Franklin?"

Susan Richards grabbed the covers and yanked it off over her son's head. Smiling she asked, "What happened?"

Franklin looked up from his placement on the bed with his wide, innocent blue eyes. Replying, he said, "The thunderstorm is terrifying me."

Susan couldn't hear the thunder and see the lightning because of her focus on the book she was reading. However, she knew that a lot had to be taken to scare her son. Even on Halloween, Johnny tried to scare Franklin with his vampire costume, but Franklin knew it was a hoax. She hugged her son and rocked him gentlely in her arms. While he was in her arms, he looked up into her mirror blue eyes and commented, "I don't like thunderstorms."

Laughing slightly, Susan brushed a hair from her son's face and replied, "Thunderstorms aren't scary, Franklin. In fact, they are only composed of…" She trailed off trying to find the appropriate story to tell her son.

Franklin looked up and said, "Daddy said that the lightning and thunder is just composed of high pressure or something like that."

Rolling her eyes, Susan placed her finger on her temple. She must've known. Reed only would tell the scientific reason behind any phenomenon, even to a five-year-old like Franklin. However, Susan wasn't surprised. Her son was the son of the world's greatest mind. With no doubt, her son would catch the scientific principles with no sweat. Though while he was still young, Susan thought it would be better for him to know some stories, then Newton's Law.

Immediately knowing what to say, she started, "Did you know that thunder is only giants going bowling? The giants need huge bowling balls to fit their hands so they have huge bowling balls which make a roar when they start rolling on the floor."

Franklin looked thoughtful for a minute and Susan hoped that he wouldn't counteract her story with some of Reed's logical theories. Nevertheless, he beamed, showing his pearly whites to his mother. Susan sighed in relief. Even though she loved Reed and she knew that he was a great father to their son, sometimes she wished that he would just loosen up and forget science when talking to Franklin and tell him some fairy and folk tales. When Susan was about to continue, her son interjected, "What about lightning? Lightning is not giants bowling, isn't it, mommy?"

Slightly smiling a faint one, she continued, "No, lightning is not giants going bowling. Instead, it is the giants at a bowling alley, having a disco ball. Do you know what that is, Franklin?"

Pondering for a minute, Franklin looked as if he was going to give up and Susan was about to reply when he exclaimed, "That's a party with a ball that has shimmering and flashy lights, right? When you went with daddy to Aunt Ali, Uncle Johnny showed me a video with a disco ball."

Even though she had to admit that she was surprised, she knew that Johnny would show something like that to Franklin. No wonder Johnny no longer hated babysitting Franklin; he was always showing Franklin something that Johnny knew that she wouldn't allow. "Yes, that's exactly what it is," Susan was about to continue with her creative theory when Franklin rose his hand. "Yes, Franklin?"

Franklin looked very insightful, "Is that why the sky becomes bright like evening in a second because of the shimmering disco ball?"

Susan didn't know why but she felt chagrin when her son made such a comment like that. Not only was he observant like his father, but he was very good when it came to his choice of vocabulary. Susan couldn't help but wonder if 'shimmering' was something he learned from Reed or someone else. She nodded in response to Franklin's question. "Now thunderstorms don't seem scary, right honey?"

Franklin nodded happily but hesitated with something he wanted to say. Susan looked at him and asked, "What else, Franklin?"

He still hesitated when he fiddled with the ends of his blue blanket. Realizing what he was hesitating for, Susan nodded. "Yes you can sleep with me, just in case you get scared of the thunderstorm again."

Franklin squealed in happiness and settled right beside his mother, in the middle of the bed. Susan smiled, snuggled him inside the bed cover and turned off the night light. She put her right arm around her son and brought him close to her. Together the mother and son slept soundly.

Just at the stroke of midnight, a brown haired man with grey streaked hair at the base of his head came into the room, yawning as he said, "You have no clue what I found out Susan. Did you know that the micro verse has…?" He halted in his own words when he saw his wife and son sleeping as two logs undisturbed. He jumped into the bed himself and hugged onto his son, and the whole family fell fast asleep right through the thunderstorm where giants went bowling at a disco.

**That's it! I know that this is a fluffy oneshot between a mother and her son, but I just couldn't resist. I should have the oneshot about Johnny finding out that he has diabetes soon. And I should update Time to Start Again soon as well.**

**Until then…**

**Forgiveness is the scent that the rose leaves on the heel that crushes it.**

**-Rosefire**


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